Mid-year Business Reality Check

Mid-year Business Reality Check

"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning."  (Benjamin Franklin)   I've been reading and listening to Dr. Joe Dispenza (Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose your Mind and Create a New One), and something he says frequently has really stuck with me in a big way. It has impacted me personally and professionally. The statement that Dr. Joe often repeats is that the familiar past becomes the predictable future. The VERY basic idea is that most of us get up every day and repeat the same tasks and the same routine mindlessly. We even tend to think the same thoughts--day after day after day--without realizing we do it, or…

Read More
Weight Loss And Marketing Plans…What’s Your Recipe For Greater Success?

Weight Loss and Marketing Plans…What’s Your Recipe for Greater Success?

If you’re like me, losing weight always seems to end up on the annual New Year’s (or mid-year, or every other Monday) to do list. I’m pleased to report that 2019 is finally the year I'm tackling my weight loss goal.  I want to nail it once and for all.  So far this year, I’ve lost almost 30 pounds.  (In case you’re wondering, I’m using the Weight Watchers Freestyle program.  And, no, I'm not being paid to endorse it!) So, how exactly does my weight loss journey inform my marketing? First, let me offer my personal weight loss success strategies: WW Freestyle offers a specific plan and I follow it daily. It helps me stay focused, and enables me to…

Read More
Bold Business Owners THINK BIG And WORK SMALL

Bold Business Owners THINK BIG and WORK SMALL

When you're self-employed your DO list never seems to shrink.   It's always up to you to make sure that you're generating enough profit from your work to pay the bills and then some.  If you're anything like me, you started the new year with optimism and a list of great ideas.  Yet, the first quarter of the year is almost over and I have no choice but to admit to myself that I haven't made nearly the progress I intended.  Projects that should have been launched in January are still languishing on my desk. What's a business owner to do?  THINK BIG and WORK SMALL.  A bold business owner sets clear business goals (the THINKING BIG part): What are my…

Read More
Struggling To MOVE FORWARD In Your Life? Maybe It’s Time To CLEAR THE CLUTTER

Struggling to MOVE FORWARD in your life? Maybe it’s time to CLEAR THE CLUTTER

“Simplicity! Simplicity! Simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.”  (Henry David Thoreau) IF YOU’RE FEELING STUCK, CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER Have you ever considered that your level of dissatisfaction is proportionate to the amount of clutter in your life? Our lives become cluttered in so many ways.  You can probably relate to the idea of too much stuff in your life—attics, garages, closets, corners, or your email box—any available space is filled with stuff. Add to that the clutter on your desk and/or in your office.  Stacks of “important” documents that are now many…

Read More
Are You Ready To RAMP UP Your Business?

Are you ready to RAMP UP your business?

"Action expresses priorities."  (Mahatma Ghandi) "Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important."  (Stephen R. Covey) We're almost into the middle of January.  If you're ready to launch a new business, struggling to find clients, or just plain overwhelmed, take a day for some strategic analysis.  Knowing what you want to accomplish and taking focused action is the way to structure your time and energy and avoid overwhelm.  In short, your results will improve when you begin to make better choices.  But before you choose, do your due diligence and gather the facts. Here are my TOP 25 questions to help you first look back on your 2017 results…

Read More
When It Comes To Marketing Your Professional Services, Are You A Marathoner Or A Sprinter?

When it comes to marketing your professional services, are you a marathoner or a sprinter?

"Either you run the day, or the day runs you."  (Jim Rohn) When I think of marketing my services, I remind myself regularly that I'm in it for the long haul. Marketing is not a one and done task.  Even professionals who've been in business for years can share a personal horror story or two about how they stopped marketing during a busy stretch only to start a new calendar year with nothing on their plate and an empty marketing pipeline. Here are some ways to think about your Marketing: Identify your daily/weekly/monthly numbers: Know your daily or weekly revenue goal needed to meet your annual income goals. Begin and end each day asking yourself if you met the goal…

Read More
RESOLUTION REDUX?

RESOLUTION REDUX?

I can't believe it's June!  Where does the time go?  If you're goal driven--whether it's a list of New Year's resolutions, work or business deliverables, or some other form of "just do it" list, June is a good time to review your progress. So, how would you rate your progress?  Are you on track or have you misplaced your list?  Wherever you are in your progress, mid-year is a good time to reevaluate your goals and objectives for 2017.  Here are some questions to get you started: How do I rate my progress on my 2017 goals? Where am I off track and, more importantly, WHY am I off track?  (Some ideas:  your list of goals is unrealistic, you don't…

Read More
Just Do It

Just Do it

If you find that your work days seem to get away from you, make it a habit--starting TODAY-- to refocus your priorities on a DAILY basis. The keys to staying on track are to review your progress DAILY and to ask more questions before jumping in.  Here are some that can help you get and stay on track. Nurture the habit to start and end  your day going through each of them.  These questions will help you focus your day and bring you back to center if you end up off track.  Used consistently, you will accomplish more and reduce your stress and anxiety. Bonus tip:  If you oversee other employees, share these questions with them.  It's a great way…

Read More
Craving Greater Life Balance? Identify And Eliminate Your Top 10 Time Wasters

Craving greater life balance? Identify and eliminate your top 10 time wasters

You arrive to work early most days and leave late.  You carry work home at least mentally, if not physically.  The deadlines never seem to end. If you want to be more effective and have your team be more effective, challenge yourself to identify all of the ways you're wasting time.  Once you have that list, challenge yourself to eliminate as many of them as you can. Here are some suggestions to get you started: Failing to identify your highest impact tasks, projects or conversations. Failing to create and/or use a meaningful "to do" list. Not communicating effectively or efficiently. Failing to ask enough questions BEFORE you start the project. Not hiring the right people. Failing to adequately train your…

Read More